Shady Bass In Cold Water

Wake up this morning and it’s a cold 35 degrees. For the past couple week’s central Louisiana has been dealing with these cold temps at night but it is warming up into mid 70’s during the day; you know the yak is already loaded in the back of the truck. My eagerness always starts the night before a trip so in turn everything is already loaded. All I need to do is get in the truck and go.

This trip will be all about getting back to my roots of Bass fishing. Ever since I was loaned this kayak, it’s been all about doing a ton of saltwater fishing. The blue Chevy is pushing down toward a lake in which I have only heard about, never laid eyes on before, it a no motor lake, so being new to this kayak thing, now is the time to try it. Getting to the bank around 9 and anxiously loading the yak I realize that there is one problem, where I have to put in at, there is some thick bank brush that is notorious for holding snakes in which to say I have a slight fear of would be a gross understatement!

Once the boat is loaded, I man up and push through the brush to get underway. No wind to push me around today. Water is clear for this area, 6 feet of visibility, blue skies and according to the terrain around me, long points that drop of into some deep water. I row out to the center of the lake where I decide what my plan of attack is going to be. At this point it seems like a no brainer. Across from me on the north bank, a slow tapering point with a big Oak tree that has fallen over into the water on a sunny bank. After spending 20 minutes or so of throwing a variety of baits into the tree top and down the point with not as much as a bite I take a look around and see on the west side of the lake an area that appears to have a very well defined creek channel running through shallow water. I row over to it, only to find out that it’s not much of a channel and in fact is very shallow water. Disappointed, I head back to the north bank, fishing everything, as I proceed to the point again. With no luck still, it is time to do something completely different. As bad of idea as it is, I row over to the south bank which is covered in shade and begin to cast at different areas when sure enough, my first Bass attacks the shallow diving sexy shad jerkbait. The bite only comes to me about 6 feet away from the boat and it’s during a long pause from my retrieve. I was currently sitting in about 10 feet of water and decide to back out a little. Once a few adjustments are made, another bass eagerly takes the bait. Now I’m onto a pattern. These fish were not one right after the other, but close enough that I continued to work the sexy shad jerkbait with a slow retrieve. My day would end up catching 7 bass all in the 1 ½ to 2 pound range.

All in all a good day! Of course just being out on the water puts me into such a great mood. It’s even amplified when your able to figure out a little of what the fish are doing. Cold water and cold nights leads to finding fish in the shade was just not the outcome I expected. I guess this isn’t the first time the fish have surprised me and I’m sure it will not be the last either.

About the Author: Born and raised in the south fishing for Bass. Once I joined the Air Force and started to move around the country. I kept my passion for Bass fishing going and was able to fish many major fisheries from California to Florida and Montana to Louisiana. I have been active in the Bass tournament scene now for 10 years. I am new to the kayak world but am diving into it head first as it is a bunch of fun and I can't seem to get enough. Don’t be fooled by my Bass fishing addiction, I will wet a hook for anything.